Salvation Army distributes gifts to the needy

Maria Batt volunteers at the Salvation Army's holiday food and a gift distribution center for a simple reason: the kids.

"I know it's a really bad time for a lot of the parents, so I like to give back to the community," she said.

She's been giving back through the program, which provides donated gifts and hams to needy families, for 16 years. She even took the day off work to help out.

She was one of about 40 people who volunteered to help more than 250 families sift through the piles of donations on Tuesday, Salvation Army Lt. Mark Cyr said.

"I was surprised we had so many because we needed them," Cyr said. "We had about twice as many families as we did last year and we weren't expecting that."

The center ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and provided gifts for 800 to 900 kids, he said. All in all, the Salvation Army helped about 600 families this holiday season, Cyr said, up from 350 last year.

"It's been a rough year for everyone," Cyr said. "We're getting people that were supporters last year and now we're helping them."

Volunteers like Batt helped the families go through the stacks of donations, ranging from brand new Transformers toys to jigsaw puzzles, and find the right presents for their children. The Salvation Army received donated time and money from sources as varied as the Subway in Dayton and young men from the China Springs Youth Camp, a court-ordered reform school. But the kicker came from the Carson City Fire Fighter's Association, which donated $1,700, Cyr said.